LOS ANGELES — LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo recognized his goalkeeper’s effort. He knew Hugo Lloris’ heroics were the only thing keeping his team competitive, masking the fatigue it felt from playing three matches in the last six days.
At halftime, trailing by a goal, he willed them to find energy from Lloris’s brilliance, and rally behind it.
“Hugo kept us in the game,” Cherundolo told them in the locker room. “It’s up to us to make sure to capitalize on that and make sure we reward him for those big saves.”
Lloris inspired Cherundolo’s message with multiple diving saves in the first 25 minutes of the match, but had little chance to stop each of Houston’s attempts which resulted in goals, both coming inside the 6-yard box.
Ezequiel Ponce and Lawrence Ennali scored for the Dynamo in their 2-0 win over LAFC (14-6-5). It was the first MLS league match for a busy LAFC team since July 20.
LAFC mustered an early push, but showed signs of exhaustion throughout. Houston (11-7-8) benefitted from those lapses, holding possession for 59-percent of the match and stringing together 691 passes to LAFC’s 420.
“The body will go, but sometimes, emotionally, and mentally, you get a little fatigued,” Cherundolo said. “It’s been a mentally draining past couple of weeks.”
LAFC has lost two of its last three matches including Saturday’s loss and a 3-1 defeat to the Columbus Crew in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday, August 25. LAFC has played six games in the last 17 days.
While that may not have been apparent for those whose eyes were glued to Lloris, it certainly was obvious beyond the 6-yard box.
Maxime Chanot’s blunder was the first that called Lloris into action. Ponce took the ball from the French defender in LAFC’s half, and fired a shot right at Lloris’s hands. Four minutes later, Lloris flew left to punch a curving shot from Ibrahim Aliyu to keep the game scoreless.
In the 28th minute, the French goalkeeper’s savvy was nullified by an unnecessary foul and a couple unlucky bounces.
LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead fouled Griffin Dorsey just outside the box, giving Houston’s Hector Herrera a chance to make an impact. Herrera’s cross ricocheted around the box and found Ponce’s feet directly in front of goal.
Ponce almost earned a brace before halftime. He rose for a free header from 10 yards out, but Lloris’ fingertips nudged the ball outside the post.
In the 72nd minute, Lloris was again put in a vulnerable position after a defensive breakdown. Ennali, who entered in the 70th minute, snuck behind LAFC defender Sergi Palencia, received a pass from Franco Escobar, and dribbled around Lloris, who had come off his line, to tap the ball in the net.
“Hugo’s a top class goalkeeper,” midfielder Lewis O’Brien said. “He’s there to make the saves. For us to rely on him so heavily, is not what we want to do.”
O’Brien exited the game in the 77th minute. It was his second start, and his first in an MLS league game since joining LAFC on July 30, on loan with an option to buy from Nottingham Forest. He has yet to play a full 90 minutes since arriving in Los Angeles, exemplifying the stretch LAFC has endured as it’s had to mix and match lineups with few fresh bodies.
LAFC switched to a four-back look in the second half as Cherundolo felt Houston’s attack “stretched” the defense. French forward Olivier Giroud made his MLS league play debut, subbing in for Christian Oliviera in the 67th minute. His presence wasn’t enough to spark a listless offense.
Forward Denis Bouanga had the most chances of any attacker but lacked a finishing touch. He worked his way into the box on multiple occasions in the first half. In the 64th minute, he broke free of the Dynamo’s back line but failed to capitalize on a 1-on-1 with goalkeeper Steve Clark.
Bouanga has 16 goals in 25 MLS matches this season, but on Saturday each of his attempts appeared rushed.
Ennali’s late goal essentially put the game out of reach as LAFC had created few quality chances to that point.
LAFC still controls its own destiny in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference as it sits five points off rival LA Galaxy with the advantage of having played two fewer games. The loss, however, puts the Supporters Shield further out of reach as Inter Miami beat the Chicago Fire 4-1 on Saturday and sit 12 points up on LAFC.
LAFC has a chance to analyze its mistakes from Saturday — rest and recover from the grueling stretch — and directly apply what it has learned to the following match as it faces Houston on Sept. 7.
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